TERA Summer 2014

Summer 2014 Texas Endurance Riders Association TERA AS

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%Hope Finan 1560 Rogers Hill Rd. Waco, TX 76705

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The Official Newsletter of the Texas Endurance Riders Association

S O C I AT I O N

Trot Out

Volume 14, Issue 3 Summer 2014

Sp e c ia lize d Sa d d le s Th e L a st Sa d d le Yo u Will Eve r Ne e d !

“T he One with the Adjustable Fit”

Eurolite

Trailmaster

International

Why are Specialized Saddles taking the horse world by storm?

• Width, arch and angle can be independently adjusted to achieve a perfect fit – the ultimate in comfort for horse and rider • Easy to adjust as horse changes shape or you change horses – no tools required • Lightweight, durable designs begin at 14 lbs complete • Six models cover virtually any riding discipline; trees also available for extra wide horses and mules • High-quality, best value: prices begin at $1349 • T ry before you buy; ask about our demo program

Specialized Saddles www.speci a l i zedsa ddl es.com

The fearless leader of this years Old Glory Ride, John Nowell.

Photo: Cheyrl Edmondson http://www.remuda.smugmug.com

Contact John Nowell, Regional Distributor, for more information specsaddles@msn.com (972) 672-8250

www.texasenduranceriders.org www.aerccentralregion.org

Trail Markers is published Quarterly in January, April, July, and October.

It is distributed solely to members of the Texas Endurance Riders Association, and is comprised of both their input and the opinion of the editor, neither of which represent the organization’s views or official stance. Of course, if there is no input from members, then you’re pretty much stuck with the editor’s opinions. Which don’t amount to much, really, but they can sometimes make interesting reading. Other times … well, the term “bird cage liner” comes to mind.

In This Issue: Ride Calendar - p2 Officers Elections - p3 Editor’s Musings - p3

Advertising rates are as follows (these are for black and white. Call or email for color rates): Full page - $80 Half page - $55 1/4 page - $32 Business Card - $22 These are one time rates. Contact Todd for yearly rates.

2014 AERC National Cahmpionship- p8-9

We are also offering a classified section free to TERA members. Non-TERA members -.50¢ a word.

Are You A TERA Rider- p10

Deadline for the next issue is Oct. 14th, 2014.

2014 Al Khamsa- p5 Reminiscing Through the Rides- p6-7

Mysterious Left Shoulder - p11

Wanna be published? Get it in!

First Calvary Horse Detachment out of Fort Hood presents the colors for this years Old Glory Ride.

Trot Out - p12

Cover photo: Jim Edmondson http://www.opticalharmonics.com

2014 TERA Sponsored Rides Unicorn Hunt

Sept 8, 2014 DCNF, Kennard, TX David Fant 936-655-4048 dfant2007@hotmail.com

Wacky Waco Wide

Oct 4-5, 2014 C Bar Stables Valley Mills TX Valerie L. Bixler 214-514-3618 bixlerdvm@gmail.com

Armadillo

Oct 18, 2014 DCNF Kennard, TX Bo Parrish 936-852-3532 bop@valornet.com 2

2014 AERC National Championship 100

Oct 30, 2014 Priefert Ranch, Mount Pleasant, TX Khristin Seymore 903-563-6639 HorizonAggie@aol.com

2014 AERC National Championship 50

Nov 1, 2014 Priefert Ranch, Mount Pleasant, TX Khristin Seymore 903-563-6639 HorizonAggie@aol.com

Off-Road Warrior

Nov 15-16 2014 Trace Trails Athens, TX Jamie Lemon 281-732-0629 jamie.lemon@yahoo.com

2014 Board of Directors President Vickie Roden 373 Langston Ln. McKinney, TX 75069 972-978-0072 Vickier_is@yahoo.com

Education Director Valerie Bixler 3598 CR 406 McKinney, TX 75071 214-514-3618 bixlerdvm@gmail.com

Publicity & Awards Director Vice-President Khristin Seymore David Fant PO Box 559 3901 North Possum Walk Rd. Daingerfield, TX 75638 Kennard, TX 75847 903-563-6639 936-655-4048 HorizonAggie@aol.com dfant2007@hotmail.com Secretary Sylvia Fant 3901 North Possum Walk Rd. Kennard, TX 75847 936-655-4048 sfant2008@hotmail.com

Membership Director Hope Finan 1560 Rogers Hill Rd. Waco, TX 76705 254-339-0012 HopeUrban@hotmail.com

Treasurer Robin Howze 845 Wilson Rd. Waxahachie, TX 75165 214-244-5909 rhowze@sbcglobal.net

Ride Manager Director Caryne Edwards 311 Hunters Creek Dr. New Braunfels,TX 78132 830-660-5552 cedwards23@satx.rr.com

The Editor’s Musings...

Howdy folks, Been a busy summer for me and I want to sincerely apologize for my lack of effort afforded to the newsletter as it has suffered a bit as of late, no pun intended. Frustrations for the year, a few big rides and disappointments have incurred and I have had to kind of put this on the back burner, so I just wanted to take this time and apologize. Things are slowly getting back to normal, so that is it in a nut shell.

See you on the trail...

Safe Riding, Todd

Editor, Todd Hezeau 7259 CR 3223 Lone Oak, TX 75453 469.261.8733 maccwall@yahoo.com

T.E.R.A. OFFICER ELECTIONS A GREAT WAY TO SERVE YOUR FELLOW MEMBERS . . .

Is to serve on the Board of Directors. The officer positions of President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary are up for election this Fall. The two-year term will begin December 1, with the new ride year. Nominations are due September 15th, and should be emailed to a current Board member, with a brief description of the person’s qualifications. You may nominate yourself or a fellow member.

Any questions regarding a particular role can be addressed with Vickie Roden, President, at either VickieR_is@yahoo.com or (972) 978-0072.

Come help out in a very rewarding way!

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2014 AL KHAMSA Annual Meeting and Convention Columbus Day weekend, October 10, 11, & 12 At Canton & Denton, Texas (Hosted within AHA Region IX)

World Renowned speakers to include geneticist, Dr. Gus Cothran, writer, Peter Harrigan, Bedouin horse expert, Joe Ferris Al Khamsa, Inc. is the organization that promotes and facilitates preservation of rare pure horses from the desert. For the last two years AK, Inc. has been a sponsor of AERC, and annually recognizes and awards the high mileage Al Khamsa AERC horse @ the AERC National Convention .

This year’s AK Convention horse program concentrates on ‘use’ and performing AK Arabians, and there are numerous demonstrations at several levels of expertise including driving, western dressage, in hand performance, reining, endurance seminar, trick horse performance, dressage, & hayride. Our own Premiere P / R / timing crew (Bo, Linda, Billy, Milinda) will have a presentation, and a hands on endurance ride stop. If you want to participate, please contact: desertbred@hotmail.com .

Do you have an advertising refrigerator magnet, pens or pencils? We will include those in attendees’ gift bags. Questions? Contact me, email above.

See the website for additional information and lodging:www.alkhamsa.org Contact Monica Respet, monicarespet@gmail.com for participating in Sundaydemos.

Monica is also the contact person for donations to the Saturday auction. Please help us with an auction donation for Al Khamsa, one of the most active groups in preservation of the original Bedouin horse and rare bloodlines.

Two local Open Barns on for Thursday & Friday. Other Open Barn interest? Contact Mary Gills, AK President, gills1920@springsips.com, or

5

Reminiscing Thr

Old Glory Parrie Haynes Ranch May 24th-25th

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Photos courtesy: Jim and Cheryl Edmondson http://www.opticalharmonics.com

rough the Rides

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2014

AERC

National

2014 AERC National Championship Priefert Ranch Mt Pleasant, Texas

Championship

100 mile – Thursday October 30, 2014

Qualifications: 500 lifetime miles (horse) AND 500 lifetime miles (rider), with at least one

100 mile, one-day ride together. The mileage requirements must be met with endurance competitions of 50 miles or more only -- no limited distance miles count towards qualification criteria.

50 mile – Saturday November 1, 2014

Qualifications: 300 lifetime miles (horse) AND 300 lifetime miles (rider), with at least 100

miles together. The mileage requirements must be met with endurance competitions of 50 miles or more only -- no limited distance miles count towards qualification criteria.

Alternate qualification (either distance): If the horse and rider team has completed 1,000 AERC endurance miles (rides 50 miles or more only) they are qualified to enter.

All entries must meet AERC qualification criteria! ! SPONSORSHIPS NEEDED PLEASE CONTACT Khristin IF you are interested!!

For more Information Contact: Khristin Seymore – HorizonAggie@aol.com - 903-563-6639 Brittani Murray – Stormarab5@aol.com - 832-928-6441

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2014

AERC

National

Championship 2014 AERC National Championship Sponsorship Request Form October 30, 2014 – 100 mile November 1, 2014 – 50 miles

Priefert Ranch, Mt Pleasant, Texas or

Business Name _____________________________________________ Individual _________________________________________________ Address - C_____________________________S________Z_________ Phone Number ____________________________________Cell? Y N

Please circle your Sponsorship Donation:

Gold Level - $1000 Silver Level - $500 Bronze Level - $250 Please make checks payable to: Khristin Seymore (903-563-6639) Email: HorizonAggie@aol.com All Sponsors will be advertised on the 2014 National Championship Ride Site, Website, Completion Awards (T-Shirts), Pre-Ride Meetings, & Award Ceremonies.

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How To Know If You Are A TERA Rider Ever been to a ride outside our region, and things just are not the same? Not just the location, but the way things are just, well, different?

Here are some fun ways to KNOW you are at a TERA sponsored ride.

You know you are at a TERA ride when: 1. You arrive in camp and can tell the location of your ride photographer immediately.

2. You yell out “Vicki” at a ride and half of the riders respond.

3. You know all the names of all the camp dogs, and which ones will be in trouble.

Again.

4. Your ribbons are always on the right, UNLESS they are on the left.

5. Your vet, now living two states away, flies in just to vet at the ride.

6. You have traveled for 14 hours to arrive at the ride, and never left the state of Texas!

7. You suffer with humidity that is higher than the temperature.

8. You smile and wave at our Chief Equine Aquatic Engineer who is hard at work as you ride down the trail.

9. You start a ride in short sleeves, and end it covered in ice and using every available piece of clothing you own.

10. You turn a corner and panic because you can’t find your confidence ribbon.

11. You dont even bat an eye when the In/Out Timer brings two chairs AND two dog beds to work.

12. When the Bluebonnet Classic has no Bluebonnets, the Armadillo has no “dillos’, the Unicorn Hunt has no Unicorns, the High Roller has no gambling, and the Texas Tango and the Bootlegger Boogie have no dancing. What kind of Wacky Wides are those?

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The Mysterious Large Left Shoulder

By Selena Copeland

You want your endurance athlete to be a balanced athlete. A balanced horse is less prone to injury, will fatigue later, is easier to ride and will be easier to saddle-fit. Horses with one shoulder larger than the other are more common than you think. To check your horse for uneven shoulder muscle development, have someone hold your horse and “square-up” his feet. Then stand behind him on a step stool (a safe distance away) and look at his shoulders. In some horses one shoulder will be much larger than the other shoulder.

One of the many problems with a horse with a large shoulder is that the trapezius muscle behind the shoulder is also larger. This causes a saddle with a traditional tree to shift to the other side, causing the rider to lean to that side putting more weight in one stirrup than the other. (This is usually blamed on unbalanced riding, but can actually be caused by an unbalanced horse.) It is important to first determine the mysterious cause of the large shoulder to determine if it can be fixed.

High heel, low heel in the front hooves or a difference in size of the 2 front hooves is a common cause. If the horse has a true club foot, the pastern bone angles will naturally be more upright in one foot than the other, they often also have a shorter leg with the high heel or club foot. If the high heel low heel is more of a “grazing foot” it is caused by always grazing with the low-heel foot forward and the high-heel foot back or as a foal always nursing from the same side. It is a good idea to have your vet x-ray the 2 hooves to see the internal pastern bone angles and have your vet and farrier work together to manage the trim for your horse to determine the best way to manage the hoof angles. We have a high-heel low-heel horse that the farrier thought naturally had a difference of 7 degrees between the 2 hooves. Over a period of several months, our new farrier (with the help of periodic x-rays) has her hooves within 2 degrees of each other and the hooves now match the natural angles of the pastern & coffin bone joints. The less difference you have between the 2 hooves, the more even the horse’s

gaits and shoulder size. Correct hoof angles is a very complicated long subject that I just wanted to mention as a possible cause of a large shoulder.

If front hoof or leg confirmation is not the cause of a horse’s large shoulder, the next thing I look at is the rider. Most horses have a preference for a particular canter lead, often the left (especially if you buy a horse off the track). If the rider allows the horse to canter on his preferred lead more often than the other lead, you will build the muscles in the leading leg and the diagonal hind leg.

Also, if the rider posts on one diagonal more than the other, you will build the legs on that diagonal. If you rise when the left shoulder is moving forward, your horse is lifting your weight out of the saddle with his left front and right hind leg, building those muscles. As the horse builds the muscles on one diagonal it becomes easier for him to carry you on that diagonal and then they learn how to put you on their preferred diagonal by bouncing you one stride or cantering one stride and going back to trot. It is also common for horses to begin the trot with the same leg leading every time, so if you always start posting with the first step you will always start on the same diagonal. You will also notice that you have a “smoother ride” when you post with the big shoulder, posting the other diagonal can feel rough. So, if you find yourself posting more on the “smooth diagonal” you are probably making the problem worse.

If the rider is not the problem either, you should probably consider that the horse may have chronic pain in one of the legs in the other diagonal or possibly a back problem. Some horses can be pretty stoic and may not show up as lame even though they actually have developed a problem. So, you may want to consider taking your horse to a good lameness vet or even a chiropractor. We have had about 16 horses in work in our barn for many years. So, we have seen several horses with the large shoulder problem. The first one had the vertebrae in his loin area out of place and the chiropractor told us he was pinching a nerve when he cantered on the right lead (he would buck if you made him

take the right lead). 2 of them had been on the race track for several years and we were able to correct the problem with retraining. One had a club foot with a shorter leg. One had arthritis in the left hock and another had arthritis in the left rear fetlock. The arthritis was not bad enough for them to pull lame at an endurance ride, but they still preferred not to use the left hind leg as much as the right. One of them would be sound on all his training rides, but pulled lame at the end of more than one endurance ride and would appear sound the next day. Ultrasound showed he had a small acute tear of the annular ligament of the left rear fetlock. The same ligament had adhesions that indicated he had 2 small tears previously that had healed. One was a horse that came to us with a large left shoulder before he was put under saddle. He never limped, but did not reach as far under his body with his left hind leg as he did his right. Ultrasound showed he had chronic edema of the annular ligament of the left rear fetlock, but no tears or scar tissue. We injected his fetlock. Reaching further with that hind leg took time to stretch the unused ligaments and muscles, but the immediate response was that he stopped bit chomping and being tense and nervous when we rode him. One interesting thing I noticed was that the 3 horses with fetlock issues were the 3 smoothest-to-ride horses in the barn – the ones with the longer pasterns and a lot of “fetlock action”, while the horse with hock arthritis had a more “bouncy” trot with more natural flexion in the hocks. Relieving a horse’s pain effects their attitude a lot. So, rather than just accept your horse’s big shoulder, see if you can help him to be able to use all of his legs equally. Muscular imbalance is worth diagnosing. It is never a “quick fix”, but the problem usually falls into the category of “good to know”. He could have a minor problem that you can manage or treat, but that could become much worse if ignored. You also might find that eventually he will be smooth to ride on both posting diagonals and easily picks up both canter leads.

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Summer 2014 Texas Endurance Riders Association

Trot Out

TERA AS

RS

TE X

AS

U R A NCE

DE RI

%Hope Finan 1560 Rogers Hill Rd. Waco, TX 76705

D EN

S O C I AT I O N

Sp e c ia lize d Sa d d le s Th e L a st Sa d d le Yo u Will Eve r Ne e d !

“T he One with the Adjustable Fit”

Eurolite

Trailmaster

International

Why are Specialized Saddles taking the horse world by storm?

• Width, arch and angle can be independently adjusted to achieve a perfect fit – the ultimate in comfort for horse and rider • Easy to adjust as horse changes shape or you change horses – no tools required • Lightweight, durable designs begin at 14 lbs complete • Six models cover virtually any riding discipline; trees also available for extra wide horses and mules • High-quality, best value: prices begin at $1349 • T ry before you buy; ask about our demo program

Specialized Saddles www.speci a l i zedsa ddl es.com

The fearless leader of the Old Glory Ride, John Nowell.

Photo: Cheyrl Edmondson http://www.remuda.smugmug.com

Contact John Nowell, Regional Distributor, for more information specsaddles@msn.com (972) 672-8250